Boo!!!!!!!!!!!! C&C Please.

[ronlane]

Thank you all for your input and help. I will admit to being defensive about what I feel is harsh critism. That comes from caring and desperately wanting to improve. As I stated in my second post I felt this was an interesting photo because it was halloween.

As for the PM to bunny. I was raised that when you have a problem with someone you go directly to them and that others don't need to know about it or be involved in it.

To me being defensive show the passion and caring about really wanting to get better. Criticism hurts, yes but not when it's something like "Ron, would have liked it better if the flash would have come from 11:00 side to show better shadows." I can then take that and go back and try taking that photo. Saying that that something is not interesting or compelling is subjective. What that means is different for everyone of us.

If I was wrong, then I apologies to Bunny. I wasn't looking for a fight, I AM looking to get BETTER.

 

[manaheim]

Good response and much better approach. Keep that up and stick with it and you'll do fine.

Remember that not everyone will have the time to provide more delicate feedback, and some folks won't even have the inclination. Some of the best teachers I have had in photography have been the most abusive and harsh. It sort of comes with the territory sometimes. Take your lumps, dust yourself off, take the feedback seriously and move on.

 

[ronlane]

I'm trying bunny. Honestly I am.

Now, if I may. Does anyone know the answer to this question. I have a sunpak external flash but it does not have a plug it for the wire to make it work without being plugged into the hotshoe. Will I need a wireless sync for the camera and the flash to make it work to help me move the light from straight on?

 

[Derrel]

It's a random snap of some halloween decoration. There's not much more to it than that, and in fact it looks like you used dead-on flash as well.

Photography as an art form isn't just about snapping pictures of things you see around you, it's about conveying something or composing something that's really interesting visually or emotionally compelling... but ideally both. This is none of those things, unfortunately.

With that kind of a douchey C&C (if you can call your drive-by a C&C), you're surprised you got a PRIVATE MESSAGE from the OP? AND you felt it was appropriate to mention that you were called on the carpet IN PRIVATE for acting like a douche? The fact that you received a PRIVATE MESSAGE and then went on to relay to us a one-side, negative characterization of it, after acting like such a douche? Facepalm (but not really...).

Wow...I remember the things you said about ME in open forum too manaheim. I liked it better when you had flounced on outta' here with a big fanfare about how you were so much better than this place...this thread shows your utter lack of class remarkably clearly... Just a tip: when you receive a PRIVATE MESSAGE after acting like a douche....DO NOT DISCUSS IT IN OPEN FORUM. Buy some class and some manners. Act like a man, and keep PRIVATE MESSAGES private. But feel free to be a douche in open forum again if you'd like to.

 

[Light Guru]

To me being defensive show the passion and caring about really wanting to get better

However to others it says the opposite. Its says that you don't want their feedback because you think you already did it the best way.

 

[Gadfly]

This thread may be going down quickly (in before the lock!)

Here's my two cents, slightly OT:

As I stated in my second post I felt this was an interesting photo because it was halloween.

Don't take this wrong way, as I mean to say this nicely: You probably have to adjust the meaning of "interesting" in your internal vocabulary when discussing photos. "Interesting" is not the same as relevant. When someone critiques a photo and says it isn't interesting, it's not because the subject of the photo isn't interesting, it's because you haven't framed or composed it in an interesting way. Interest also refers to the way in which a photo draws the gaze of the viewer, as if automatically.

In other words, a photographer sometimes strives to show us something boring or irrelevant and make it look interesting. You have to show people who are looking at your photo that it is interesting. The interest shouldn't come from the subject's context.

This is very hard to do, so don't feel too beat up over it. There are several sayings that pertain to this: It takes 10 years or 10,000 hours of hard work and practice before you become an expert in anything. Ansel Adams, one of the finest photographer's says this: "Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop." The great Commander Peter Quincy Taggert said: "Never give up. Never surrender."

 

[ronlane]

Gadfly,

I see what you are saying and thank you for the explanation. I see the different meaning of interesting. So to keep this open and a learning experience for me. If I went back to this subject to do this over to compose it differently, would moving the camera to the camera right and down and bringing the flash off camera (which I don't have capabilities to do at this time) would this have helped it?

I used lightroom and pse 10 to highlight the face and darken the background in order to draw people's attention to the subject that I wanted to feature. These are suggestions that I learned from a youtube video and I felt really helped this image.

Would seeing the original uncropped photo have helped with suggestions to improve my final image?

Oh and just for the record, I'm not giving up on this. I'm having too much fun with it. I really think that the "hunt" for that one picture is something that is really cool. Will I ever get there, I don't know. But as you say, I have PLENTY of hours or pictures or time to go before reaching the 10,000 rule.

 

[Light Guru]

Don't take this wrong way, as I mean to say this nicely: You probably have to adjust the meaning of "interesting" in your internal vocabulary when discussing photos. "Interesting" is not the same as relevant. When someone critiques a photo and says it isn't interesting, it's not because the subject of the photo isn't interesting, it's because you haven't framed or composed it in an interesting way. Interest also refers to the way in which a photo draws the gaze of the viewer, as if automatically.

In other words, a photographer sometimes strives to show us something boring or irrelevant and make it look interesting. You have to show people who are looking at your photo that it is interesting. The interest shouldn't come from the subject's context.

Well said. I good photographer can take a boring subject and make an interesting photo.

 

[ronlane]

Well said. I good photographer can take a boring subject and make an interesting photo.

You are correct. The reason I posted this was because I was trying to do just that. As I mentioned, I was watching Scott Kelby on youtube from the bhvideo site. In his video, he took some photos that he took on vacation that were to me just plain and with post processing them, made them look really good. It was his travel pictures video.

My picture was inspired by a picture he processed of a friend who was just standing on the street leaning against a pole. With highlights, shadows, vingetting and layers, he made a really good photo.

I'll never claim to be as good as him or some of the people on here, I was just mearly imitating his processes on my photo.

 

[manaheim]

It's a random snap of some halloween decoration. There's not much more to it than that, and in fact it looks like you used dead-on flash as well.

Photography as an art form isn't just about snapping pictures of things you see around you, it's about conveying something or composing something that's really interesting visually or emotionally compelling... but ideally both. This is none of those things, unfortunately.

With that kind of a douchey C&C (if you can call your drive-by a C&C), you're surprised you got a PRIVATE MESSAGE from the OP? AND you felt it was appropriate to mention that you were called on the carpet IN PRIVATE for acting like a douche? The fact that you received a PRIVATE MESSAGE and then went on to relay to us a one-side, negative characterization of it, after acting like such a douche? Facepalm (but not really...).

Wow...I remember the things you said about ME in open forum too manaheim. I liked it better when you had flounced on outta' here with a big fanfare about how you were so much better than this place...this thread shows your utter lack of class remarkably clearly... Just a tip: when you receive a PRIVATE MESSAGE after acting like a douche....DO NOT DISCUSS IT IN OPEN FORUM. Buy some class and some manners. Act like a man, and keep PRIVATE MESSAGES private. But feel free to be a douche in open forum again if you'd like to.

Ok, whatever Derrel. Look, I have a great deal of respect for you, but you are in no position to be lecturing me on how not to be a douche. You have your fair measure of moments where you're are well and aboard the douche train and chugging merrily along shoveling coal into the fire.

My original comment wasn't NEARLY as bad as you make it out to be. As I said in my PRIVATE RESPONSE to OP, my message was probably a little more quick than it should have been. I was rushing and I probably should have just skipped it. Yes, perhaps commenting that he bashed me privately was a little gauche on my part, but it wasn't like I came on here and copied and pasted his message. Had I done that, I would have most certainly expected your response. Since I didn't, I think your reaction is a bit over the top.

So let's all move on and stop calling each other childish names, ya? I think you and I know each other well enough to know where we really stand, and this is not in good character for either of us fellow douches. Ok?

 

[Frequency]

Whether it is PM or OM, they must strengthen relations and not strain them-at least as photography enthusiast; it is really affecting the psyche of forum members (definitely mine) when there are unhappy exchanges between senior members who are well learned too.

If hot exchanges were to continue as PM between two members no one else would know that and they may turn to be permanent enemies even from a silly beginning. I think an indication of what has been happening in between two persons can help others to help the situation. Next time this may happen between me and some one else(pray that does not happen); then also others can extend a hand of help to solve the crisis.

I have great respect for Derrel and Manny; it is really disturbing to see unhappy happenings within the family
So please don't ...you know what i mean....